Behavior at Simi Pioneer Cemetery is dead wrong

Respect for the deceased.

It's a precept practiced by generations of people from every corner of the earth, regardless of culture, creed, race or religion (or lack thereof).

A burial ground is a somber yet special place where we're forced to reflect on the reality that our time here is precious, if only because it's finite.

It is place where people go to feel, to cry, to ponder, to remember and, for many, to connect with those loved ones they so badly wish were still here.

El Rancho Simi Pioneer Cemetery also carries historical significance. It's the final resting spot for some of those brave men and women who risked life and limb to settle this area, those pioneers who shared the same passion for this valley that many of us do today.

It's also a final resting place for veterans, a place where their sacrifice and love of their country is recorded in stone, so that future generations will be reminded of the price of freedom.

Yet, despite all of this, it seems that some thoughtless individuals have decided to turn the city's only public cemetery into a thoroughfare. A litter box. A hangout.

Because of ongoing construction in "Duck Park," students on their way to school are using the cemetery as a shortcut. If that was all they were doing that might be fine, but according to frustrated caretaker Barbara Scroggins, a few bad apples are also littering, vandalizing and even stealing flowers from the cemetery plots.

Keep in mind, this is not a criminal problem- the kids are not breaking the law by trespassing because the cemetery is on public land. Still, there's a certain moral repugnancy to the fact that the cemetery is being trampled.

Parents, please remind your children that a cemetery is special place that needs a gentle hand. Teach them to be respectful.

Tell us what you think by e-mailing simi@theacorn.com.